Come Home, Vote to Keep Islamic Government, Nik Aziz Tells Kelantan Folk Malaysian Insider May 2,2013 by Zurairi AR and Md Izwan

Come home, vote to keep Islamic government, Nik Aziz tells Kelantan folk Malaysian Insider May 2,2013 By Zurairi AR and Md Izwan

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat urged Kelantan folk living outside the state to return home for the May 5 polls, telling them last night to keep the PAS government in the east coast state while changing the federal government to Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The PAS spiritual adviser was speaking during the launch of a campaign called “Jom pakat kelik undi” (Let’s come home to vote together), attended by close to 5,000 PAS supporters in Kampung Baru here, mainly Kelantan folk living in Kuala Lumpur.

“We will vote on the 5th, after we vote we will form a government, and just not any government, but one based on Prophet Muhammad’s teachings ... Remember this so it will not be hard for you to come back to Kelantan,” Nik Aziz (picture) told the crowd.

He earlier stressed that only Islam held the answer for Muslims, not democracy, nationalism or communism. It was a message that had been repeated many times by the veteran statesman in recent weeks as he tried to convince Malay voters to choose his Islamist party.

Speaking in the Kelantan Malay dialect and peppered with pantun, guest speakers, including the PAS candidate for Titiwangsa, Ahmad Zamri Asa’ad Khuzaimi, touched on issues closest to the heart of Kelantan voters last night.

The speakers mocked the situation in Pasir Mas, where independent candidate Datuk Ibrahim Ali has joined forces with Umno after Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate Che Johan Che Pa refused to contest the seat. PAS had backed Ibrahim in Election 2008.

Voters were told to not be afraid to vote for change, and warned that if they did not go home to vote, BN has allegedly readied phantom voters to take advantage of their names.

Among the speakers last night was also PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who made the crowd laugh after confessing that she was not aware where her husband, de facto PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was currently during his stump yesterday.

The caretaker Kelantan mentri besar only arrived at 10pm together with state executive councillor Datuk Abdul Fatah Mahmood and former state assembly Speaker Datuk Nasaruddin Daud, escorted by a group of bikers.

Earlier, the event was preceded by a prayer session where supporters asked for a PR victory in the polls. Several prayer sessions have been organised across the country, culminating in a grand session in Kota Baru tomorrow.

Geared towards Kelantan folk, the event included gimmicks full of symbolism. A group of youths passed an oversized key replica to Nik Aziz, symbolising the key to Putrajaya which PAS and its allies in PR are hoping to administer come May 6.

PAS candidate for Putrajaya Datuk Husam Musa was mentioned and cheered several times as the person responsible of “opening” Putrajaya’s doors to PR from inside, providing both of them win.

Nik Aziz also passed several banners to PAS representatives from each federal seat, while Kelantan-born actor Mustapha Kamal led an oath with the crowd to return home and give PAS victory.

The Malay heartland of Kelantan is synonymous with PAS, with the Islamist party ruling the state through two lengthy periods: from 1959 to 1977, and the current rule since 1990.

Over 1.3 million vehicles are expected to travel along the North-South Expressway during Election 2013, an increase of 20 per cent from the 1.1 million vehicles on normal days.